Saving Sakura
by cutecrazyice
Summary: She was empty, and she was dying every day. Even when Team 7 had been restored, so much has changed that it wasn't possible to go back to the way they used to be anymore. But they will try - however much it hurts them all...ON HIATUS. To be rewritten.
1. Prologue

**Warning: Rated M, with flashes and scenes of violence.**

* * *

**Prologue**

_She was drowning in her own blood. That, and something else that was far too horrible to comprehend. Her breaths were coming in short pants, slow and difficult. Her vision was blurry, but she could see enough within the confines she was in. And what she saw, every day, was slowly driving her to that little far corner of insanity._

_She would rather be blind right now._

_Her body was in pain, but she was too numb to feel it, anyway. Only the memories brought the pain back. She couldn't move, because everytime she tried to, the agony would come back. She didn't have it in her to scream anymore, from the anguish. From the horror._

_She was already nearly broken._

_From a dim part of the room—or maybe it was just a dim part of her mind—she could hear another scream. Not her voice, no—this was animalistic, and full of hopelessness. Like an animal being tortured, broken to obey its master._

_Only she knew it wasn't an animal._

_She knew it was selfish, to just lie there and do nothing, but somehow, horribly…she couldn't seem to care anymore. The screams reverberated around the walls, turning into howls that made her stomach turn. Made her feel sick, even as the howls to mere, pathetic whimpers. She didn't cry—there were no more tears left. Eventually, as the moments passed, the sick feeling eased away, to be replaced by a hollowness that left her devoid of any more emotions, any more thoughts. Left her with nothing._

_She didn't care._

_She could only sigh, through chapped lips, and close her eyes._

_Slowly, she let the darkness take her._


	2. One: Missing

**Chapter 1: Missing**

It had been one month since her mission, and Naruto knew she was supposed to be coming back today.

Finally.

He was relieved, because it meant he could see her again, after so many days of wanting to do so. He could talk to her again, and tell her about all the things that have happened when she'd been gone. Like when he had the weird fluttering in his stomach yesterday (unexpectedly, surprisingly weird, he had to add) when he had a glimpse of Hinata in her summer white dress—a far cry from what she usually wore during trainings. Or when he had finally, _finally_ gotten his one and only best friend-rival (yes, the great Uchiha bastard himself) drunk three days ago. Or when he had almost unmasked their sensei, if only he hadn't tripped over his own foot in the process of trying to do so (keyword: trying). He had so much to tell her.

Mostly that he missed her, and her familiarity, and was glad that she was coming home.

Today, Team 7 was finally going to be together again.

They had planned to hang out later in their favorite restaurant (well, okay, _his _favorite restaurant—he never did get why they didn't like the Ichiraku as much as he did) to have some ramen and catch up on stuff. But he wanted to see Sakura firsthand, and so decided to wait for her by the gates of the village to personally welcome her.

He knew, before she left, that things still weren't exactly as normal as they would all have liked it to be (by normal, he meant back on their genin days, when they were still twelve years old and blissfully happy). Sure, they had finally managed to bring Sasuke back home eight months ago, after he had finally finished his goal of killing and brother and avenging his family. Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi were part of the team to bring him home, and it was an exhausting task—not that Sasuke protested, or anything of the sort. He had done his goal, and was willing to come back home (not that the teme would ever admit this was home to him, but Naruto knew better) to face the consequences. And face it he did: a six-month prison charge rendered by the Hokage herself (she didn't budge an inch, however much Naruto yelled at her, or Sakura pleaded with silent eyes), one in which he survived. He'd been released two months ago, and was finally given the status of leaf ninja once again, with the free will to do as he wished. He still wasn't allowed to leave Konoha freely for another four months, or even take more than C-class missions, but he never complained—hey, at least he was still allowed to live here. He'd paid his price, and he was now a free man.

The free man, needless to say, had come back to team 7—but two months was still too short for the three chuunins (and yes, even their ex-sensei) to fall back into their old routine, and pick up the pieces of old, long-broken friendship. It wouldn't be stitched the same way again, but Naruto was still determined that a new beginning would suffice. He had pestered his team long enough for it, and he wasn't about to give up.

Sakura was coming home, and today would be a good start for that beginning.

So, Naruto had dragged Sasuke with him. The teme had grumbled that it was pointless, and had repeatedly called him annoying, but he didn't mind. He just called insults back, and waited at the gates for a glimpse of the familiar pink hair and bright green eyes. He also complained while he waited, visions of ramen flitting through his mind every waking second.

When lunchtime came, he couldn't stand it anymore, and so dragged Sasuke to said favorite restaurant to have his five-bowl fill. Then he dragged the Uchiha back to the gates, and waited once more.

And waited, and waited still.

"Neh, Sasuke-teme…what do you think is taking her so long?"

The Uchiha simply scoffed, a bored expression on his face. He was leaning on a wall, while the blond loudmouth was walking back and forth, as if trying to get rid of his extra energy by the movements.

"Dobe. You know missions don't get done on time all the time."

"But this is Sakura-chan—she's always punctual!" Naruto wailed.

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Hn."

"Teme!"

"Dobe."

And on it went, as it usually did between the two.

Afternoon became night, and Sasuke had finally had enough.

"This is useless, dobe. She'll be back tomorrow, I'm sure. I'm going home."

Sasuke went home, muttering about how fruitless the day had been because of the dobe (no training), and his childish insistence.

Naruto, in the meantime, pouted some more, and yelled more insults until the teme was out of his sight.

Determined still, he waited until two in the morning. Then reluctantly, he went home, too.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The next day, she still had not arrived. He knew Sasuke was right—it was normal for missions to extend like this. And so, he didn't worry overmuch. He just really wanted to see her, was all—that was why he was a bit impatient. It was, after all, her first solo mission—he really just couldn't wait to hear all about it.

He went to eat lunch with an ever blushing and stuttering Hinata (he was still weirded out by the stomach flutterings, and vowed to ask Sakura about it when she returned), and tried to put his female best friend out of his mind.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Three days later, she still hadn't come home. Even the day after that.

Days became weeks, and weeks became a month.

Then, one and a half months.

Naruto assured himself these things happened, but there was a gnawing in the pit of his stomach that wouldn't go away. He was worried.

Two months later after her supposed-to-be arrival, he was bordering on panicking, and being anguished. He'd pestered everyone he could about it, and still, nothing was being done. Sakura needed to be rescued, he'd said. He'd demanded. He'd drummed it into all their brains, enough to drive everyone crazy.

Wasn't anyone worried?

Wasn't anyone going to do anything?

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Three months had gone. Finally, Kakashi had taken the initiative to go to the Hokage himself and request for a team to search for his still-not-around team member (Naruto had tried yelling and demanding months earlier, to no avail—he was merely booted out of her office with a powerful punch that sent him flying for being rude to a superior). Reluctantly, worried too—for the missing girl was also her student—Tsunade agreed, and let Kakashi choose the small team.

Naturally, Naruto was in the team. Because of his restriction, Sasuke was not allowed to join, much to his chagrin. He had politely yet repeatedly asked the Hokage to let him go with them—but like with Naruto, she wouldn't budge, and threatened to put him to another six months in prison if he dared disobey her.

He had no choice, but to take up the task of waiting.

Primed and ready, the team of three (Kakashi, Naruto and their old teammate Sai) began the search.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Two weeks later (the first one had been fruitless), they searched again. This time, Sasuke—whose restriction was finally almost done—went with them. He still had a week to go, but he didn't care anymore.

Tsunade knew she should have brought the boy back to prison—he had, after all, technically broken the rules, even if it was only a week. But somehow, she couldn't bring herself to.

For the guilt was eating at her, knowing she had just unwittingly put her student—hell, her apprentice—into the very face of a nightmare.

But a mission was a mission. Sakura was ninja enough to know that, and to understand its necessity.

To Kami, she simply prayed everyday, that the girl had somehow survived, and would be found soon.

Then she went on, and drowned herself in lots of sake.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

After one more month, all search had to be stopped, because there were other missions to keep to priority, for the village's safety.

And, along with the search, the hope slowly vanished, too.

At age seventeen, Haruno Sakura was not declared dead—but she might as well have been, as Team 7 and some of her friends gave her a secret, special memorial, to mourn her loss. Hoping she was safe, somewhere. Or if she was dead…that it had been quick, and painless.

It seemed, Tsunade thought, that Kami hadn't heard her prayers after all.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

**a/n: Well..chapter one! please review! :)**


	3. Two: Back from the Dead

**Chapter 2: Back From the Dead**

Tenten wasn't what you'd consider Sakura's best friend, but they were friends, nonetheless. She had attended the memorial, and had somewhat mourned, too—and she was the one who comforted her teammate, Lee, when it seemed the young ninja was just too much in despair to even go back to normal routine after days, talking about springtime and youth and all that stuff.

It would have been funny, and annoying, too, if the situation was anything else.

Nevertheless, she knew the guy had to go on. He couldn't mope around forever—something that he seemed too keen on doing at the moment. He had to train, had to get back on his feet. Had to take on missions again, and get himself prepped and ready for the upcoming jounin exams in two months. It was his dream, wasn't it? First jounin, then ANBU. She knew he could make it, if only he'd focus and get back on being his loud and hyperactive self.

In other words, he had to forget about Haruno Sakura. Harsh, yes—but it had to be done to move on.

She noticed, of course, that Lee wasn't the only one doing the moping. Even if others didn't think so (particularly the ever-critical Hyuuga Neji), she was quite a perceptive girl, and when she put her mind to it…well, she was _really_ good at seeing what others were trying to hide. If it was a gift, or a curse, she didn't mind.

At least it was helpful.

Take Naruto, for example. He was still as hyperactive as ever, and as loudmouthed, too—but there were moments when he would suddenly cease talking, and his eyes would darken, and then sadden…all because someone mentions something that reminds him of what could have been memories of his missing teammate (Or dead teammate, for that matter—not that people said that out loud). Talking about said teammate was off-limits, too. There was one time when they were out training, and Kiba suddenly—accidentally—mentioned her name, and Naruto got so quiet that it was almost…eerie. She actually shivered a bit at the eeriness. He left after that, not bothering to say goodbye.

Needless to say, no one mentioned her name to him again after that.

Ino was a different matter. Unlike Naruto, she talked about Sakura—a lot. How they started out being friends. How they became rivals. How they fell back into friendship. Mostly just memories, about the fun times and the sweet times and the weird escapades that they have had (and there seemed to be plenty). The talking usually ended with Ino in hysterical tears, making her even louder than ever—and then a row would usually ensue between Ino and Naruto, something about him saying that she should just shut up, and she yelling that he should mind his own business.

Whenever this happened, it was either Chouji or Shikamaru who ended up comforting, and dragging her away from the uncomfortable group.

Then there was Sasuke. Oh, the guy was definitely hard to read. He was as cold and stoic as ever, with no emotion in either words or eyes. But Tenten had noticed something—whenever Sakura was mentioned, he would be broodier. Quieter, as if lost in his own little world. He didn't reprimand Ino as much as Naruto did, but Tenten could tell he was annoyed. Sometimes, he would simply walk off, too, like Naruto. Other times, he would just train harder, until he bled with his injuries. He never went to the hospital to let someone heal him afterwards (Naruto didn't really need it, because the guy could self-heal—something that Tenten totally envied, minus the being-a-Kyuubi-vessel-part), and instead would just go home, to heal said injuries himself.

And he never insulted Naruto that much anymore—as if knowing it was what their female teammate would have wanted.

Tenten didn't know how Sakura's two mentors were coping, but mostly because Kakashi was so busy with too much missions (according to Naruto), and Tsunade was so busy with too much sake (still according to Naruto).

Maybe that was their way of dealing.

It was hard, and Tenten knew if it was one of her teammates (or best friend), she would be moping, too.

But for now, she had to keep her head high.

Someone had to act normal around here, right?

"Come on, Lee—you haven't practiced in days! Don't you think it's time to do so now?"

"But Tenten—I cannot! I am still mourning the loss of my beautiful blossom, because I still cannot accept the fact that she is now gone, and her springtime of youth is forever out of my sight…it cannot be out of my heart as well…it cannot!"

With a sigh, she tried not to roll her eyes overmuch. From the fields on the right, Neji was already training, ignoring them both. She could see, from the corner of her eye, his powerful kicks, his graceful movements. Swirling and balancing and attacking the unsuspecting air. Beautiful.

Gai sensei, thankfully, wasn't around—she didn't think she could bear it with additional talk of nonsense.

"Ah, my beloved student Lee! Do not despair! I am now here and I shall comfort you!"

Sheesh. Speak of the devil.

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

And on it went, as the two embraced and cried buckets of wailing tears. And yelled at the top of their lungs about—yes, you guessed it—springtime and youth.

This time, she did roll her eyes.

Sighing, Tenten had no choice but to leave them (else she lose her sanity), and ambled on towards her other teammate. Neji was still training, and sweating profusely—but, as usual, she could hardly hear the sound of his heavy breathing, if there was even any. She stared at him for a moment, admiring his dedication and the way he could so easily concentrate, amidst all the noise and distraction (translation: Lee and Gai sensei's loud bawling).

"Mind if I join you?"

He was silent for a moment, sending another powerful kick through the air. Then he nodded.

"Of course," he replied without looking at her. "You should have done so earlier."

She sighed again. "I couldn't just leave Lee like that—the poor guy is still depressed. At least Gai-sensei is here now—he comforts Lee better than I do."

"Lee should learn that destiny is as it ought to be, and he must move on."

"The love of his life is gone, Neji—what did you expect, happiness? Cheerful laughter?"

"Mourning will get him nowhere."

Tenten couldn't help it—she glared at him. "Oh, stop being such an insensitive jerk! If it were any of us missing, you would be just as worried!"

"She could be dead—most likely, she is. Sitting down while doing nothing is useless."

"He is not just sitting down, he is _mourning_!"

Really—why was she being defensive when she herself had wanted Lee to stop moping just a moment ago?

Oh, right. Because Mr. Destiny was being a _jerk._

"You are such a hypocritical, insensitive—"

She stopped, because Neji's eyes widened. She had often called him a jerk, many times over in the past—his eyes had _never_ widened, not once.

"Neji?"

He wasn't looking at her. Instead, his Byakugan eyes were trained somewhere behind her. She realized he was looking on at the forest, but whatever at—whatever it was that had his eyes going wide like that—she had no idea.

Her shinobi ears picked up the rustle of leaves, the sound of footsteps. Tensing, bracing herself, Tenten silently took out a kunai from her pocket. Silently turned around.

And froze.

For the sight in front of her was something she had not at all expected to see.

Bloody. Limping. Standing still. And…smiling?

Either a ghost, or a vision—but Tenten highly doubted that.

No ghost or vision would ever look so real.

_This_ was real.

It looked like the dead girl was back.

"Sakura?"

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

**a/n: Yey! Chapter two is done! What do you think? Like it so far, or hate it? Please review, it would be really appreciated...**

**I'm gonna be making the next chapter pretty soon (but first I have to study for my final exams!)...so, until then... :)**


	4. Three: Something Off

**Chapter 3: Something Off**

She was bleeding. Not so much that it could be considered fatal, but enough to make others notice. And the four people standing in the training grounds definitely did.

"Sakura?"

Tenten's shocked voice floated through the air, a reminder that everything had suddenly gone still and silent without them even being aware of it. Only the breeze shifted, blowing whispers that couldn't be understood, and swaying everything movable into a light, gentle movement.

Then...

"Lee, my beloved student! Your beloved love is back!"

"Sakura-chan! You're alive! My cherry blossom!"

There was a great cry of happiness and triumph, as a green-clad teenager jumped up and down in excitement, amidst the tears that were still streaking his face. Then, he moved, a green blur charging towards his longtime love with arms wide open (The older green-clad ninja was bawling on the ground in joy).

"I thought you were dead! I thought you were gone!"

"Lee—"

"I can't believe you're alive! I can't believe it!"

"Lee—"

"My cherry blossom, I will take care of you! I will—"

"Lee!"

Lee ignored the loud command. He kept on charging like a madman, hearts practically dancing in his eyes. He ran. He grinned.

SMACK!

And fell down on his rump, as an invisible barrier met his path.

"You really should learn to listen to instructions—especially when they're needed," Neji said, a hint of coldness in his voice. Slowly, he turned the Byakugan off, and eyed Sakura silently.

The shield that she had put up around her was invisible to his white eyes once again. It had been a light green shield—a jutsu he had seen before, though not that many times. It wasn't one many ninjas used, because it was the kind of shield that was too weak to counter a powerful jutsu attack, much less stop it. But, as far as blocking simple bodily contact, it was effective enough. He had to wonder why she still hadn't dropped it when she was already safe in Konoha.

Maybe to block off the likes of Lee, then.

He highly doubted that.

"Haruno?" Neji asked quietly.

She looked in his direction for a while, her expression saying that she was aware he knew about the jutsu—him being a Hyuuga was indication enough. She didn't offer explanations. Didn't even so much as try to answer his silent question with a simple nod of acknowledgement.

And she didn't look him in the eye.

Instead, her head turned to the four (Lee had already stood up, despite the dumbfounded expression on his face). She gave another small trace of a smile, her eyes trained somewhere on their faces. Somewhere, Neji presumed, where eye contact wouldn't happen.

"Hi, guys."

Her voice was hoarse—not too much, but enough for him to notice that it wasn't really her usual voice. Like she overused it, or something like that. She took a step forward, and her dominant use of her right leg told him that she had either broken her left one, or sprained it. He couldn't see if there were bruises there (he was respectful enough not to look through her pants with the Byakugan), but her arms had them—and she was cradling her left elbow using her right, meaning that arm was either broken or sprained as well. Her face was okay, albeit the swollen lower lip and the large slash across her right cheek.

Why didn't she heal them?

Tenten was the first to speak again.

"Sakura—kami! What—are you—er...where have you been? What happened to you?" the weapons master stuttered, concern and alarm clear in her voice. She had dropped the kunai long ago on the grass, where it splintered and dug itself in the soft ground.

"I bungled up the mission a bit—but I fixed it now, so don't worry. Konoha is safe. And I'm okay, just minor bruises," Sakura replied lightly. Neji wondered if he'd imagined it—but there was a slight flicker in her expression when she had said the last sentence. But it had vanished before he could contemplate what it meant.

"My cherry blossom! Are you sure you are alright? You are bleeding!"

She smiled again—this time more sincerely. "I'm fine, Lee. And I'm sorry for the shield—I just don't think you should hug me yet, what's with my bruises and all."

Lee flushed a deep red at the word hug—but he seemed pretty pleased with her explanation, and went on nodding his head eagerly.

"You do not have to apologize, my lady! Seeing your youth and beauty come to life again is more than enough, and when springtime—"

"Oh, lay off it, Lee," Tenten scoffed, rolling her eyes in exasperation. Turning back to Sakura, she smiled worriedly again. She opened her mouth to speak—but Neji cut her off, speaking the words he knew she was about to ask.

"We thought you were dead, Haruno. Your team has been searching for you for weeks. We all have." He didn't mean it to come out accusing, but it sounded a bit like that. Tenten glared at him, but he ignored her and continued staring at Sakura.

Something flickered in those green eyes again—was he the only one who noticed it? Why was everyone acting oblivious? Again, it disappeared before he could understand the emotions behind it, to be replaced by a reassuring smile.

"Well, you thought wrong. Sorry to worry you."

Neji narrowed his eyes, remaining silent.

"You should go to the hospital, Sakura," Tenten said, "Let me accompany you—"

"I'm fine, Tenten—I'll heal myself later. I need to see Tsunade-shisou first." Slowly, she turned to Gai, who had stopped bawling, but was still tear-streaked in the face.

"Gai-sensei...is shishou here, or is she out on a village meeting?"

The green-clad adult grinned, showing off even, white teeth to perfection. "She is here, dear Sakura-chan. We will accompany you—"

"Cherry blossom!" Lee yelled, enthusiastically interrupting his teacher, "Let me escort you, I will protect you—"

"She is quite safe right now, moron," Tenten interrupted sarcastically, rolling her eyes again. "She's home now, isn't she?"

Lee raised his hands in the air. "But I am still willing—"

"Lee, would you stop being irritating—"

"But I am her knight! My youth will—"

"Lee, you're not a knight," Tenten pointed out. "You're a _ninja_."

"But nevertheless, I—"

"Er...guys?"

The two arguing teammates went silent and turned to the third speaker, who happened to be the person they were talking about. Sakura nodded her head.

"I'll go alone. Thanks."

"But my blossom!" Lee cried out. "I—"

"Bye, guys."

And with that, she left, leaving a worried Tenten, a hysterically dismayed Lee, and a loud Gai (who was comforting Lee with another bout of springtime and youth speech) behind. Neji continued being silent, but he watched as she slowly limped her way to the direction of the Hokage tower. Watched, until she vanished from their sight. After a few minutes, Lee recovered, and was grinning like a madman again. He soon bolted, ready to announce to their fellow ninja comrades that his beloved blossom was back. Gai-sensei, naturally, went off with him.

"She doesn't look okay," Tenten said softly, once the two were gone.

Neji didn't reply.

"I...I better go, Neji," she said again. "Ino and the others have to know about this."

He still didn't say a word, but he nodded. Waving a hand at him, she slowly ambled away.

With a last look at Tenten, Neji frowned. He had no idea his female teammate was perceptive enough to notice the pink-haired kunoichi wasn't as okay as she was trying to reassure them—even Lee and their sensei hadn't noticed it, as they were both merely occupied with the fact that she was alive, and that was it. Nothing more to worry about.

But there was something there.

Something off, and something not...right.

But he decided to ignore it.

After all, even if what he saw in Sakura was either imagination or real, one thing was still certain—it was none of his business, nor will it ever be. They weren't teammates...they weren't even friends. Just ninjas and comrades, whose paths crossed every now and then. Nothing more.

He sighed.

Then, just like any dedicated shinobi, he went on with his training.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

**a/n: Chapter 3, at last! Hope you guys like it! I'm making chapter 4 now, but it's not yet finished...i'll post it soon...**

**Please review! :)**


	5. Four: Are you Alright?

**Chapter 4: Are you Alright?**

Tsunade wasn't the type of person who worried overmuch. Sure, there were lots of things to worry about: bills, civilian troubles, common complaints, possible invasion problems...the list went on, really. But, because she was Hokage (and had been for some time now), worrying simply wasn't an option. She had work to do, and her first priority was making sure to be what others saw as the strong, fearless ninja-village leader—one who always kept Konoha and its people safe.

But even fearless leaders had their weaknesses.

She wouldn't exactly say Haruno Sakura was her weakness. But nevertheless, seeing the girl back, after so many months, was quite a shock to the system.

Especially in such a state.

"Sakura...what happened to you?"

It hadn't been the best wake-up call—Shizune yelling in a panicked frenzy was enough to make anyone get a headache, and the Hokage wasn't an exception. No, not when she had a terrible hangover, after having such a mighty drinking spree last night. When Shizune had woken her up, she had growled—long and loud and very, very grumpily. She was _not_ happy. And she was about to yell a hearty "Get out!" just so she could doze off a few minutes longer.

That is, until she saw a flash of pink.

Until she saw who it was.

Until she realized why Shizune had been in a frenzy in the first place.

The anger and irritation had gone, as Tsunade immediately dismissed Shizune, and told her to make herself useful instead of standing there like a gaping idiot (which her assistant actually was doing, sadly). When Shizune vanished, Tsunade then turned her attention to the cause of the ruckus—and, if she admitted to herself, the real cause of her own miserable drinking spree.

The pink-haired, seventeen-year old girl that had vanished for so long was now back, and standing in front of her in what could only be called a casual, normal manner—the way most people did when called in, or reporting for a briefing, or partaking information about a mission (well, except Naruto—that boy really was a brat sometimes).

But there was nothing normal about her. She was wounded, and she was limping, and she was bloody. That would have been normal, too, except for one thing—she was also smiling.

And Tsunade couldn't help but think the smile seemed disturbing.

It looked empty. Almost insincere.

"Nothing happened, shishou," Sakura replied, voice casual. Her head was directed at the Hokage—but her eyes were interestingly fixated on her mentor's right shoulder. "I got the mission done. You know I would never fail you."

There was no bitter note in the words, none at all...so why did Tsunade feel that there was, somewhere inside there?

And it wasn't exactly what she wanted to hear. She tried again.

"Did they capture you, Sakura?"

A pause. The smile remained the same.

"Yes," was the simple reply.

"Then? What happened?"

Another pause.

"Nothing. I escaped. I finished the mission," Sakura repeated.

"You finished a mission that was only supposed to take one month—"

"I am sorry, shishou, if I failed you. It won't happen again."

Again, it wasn't the answer she wanted to hear—nor did it make her feel relieved. With a frown, Tsunade eyed Sakura seriously, trying to gauge some sort of reaction—any reaction, for that matter.

"Who broke your fingers?"

For the first time since the girl came into the office, she looked up, surprise evident in her expression.

"How did you—"

"I'm a medic. I taught you. I know the technique you used to partly heal your hands—and your ribs."

Surprise turned to understanding, before Sakura looked to the spot on her mentor's shoulder again. "And I survived because of your teachings, shishou. Thank you."

It was a stiff thank you, and they both knew it.

There was another pause—it seemed there was going to be a lot of that in this conversation.

"Sakura, I want to know what happened while you were captured."

"I will write a report—"

The Hokage pounded a fist on the table, cracking it in the process.

"I want to know _now_," she growled.

She didn't seem to notice that the crack grew, nearly splitting the table in two—neither did Sakura, for that matter. The girl was still busily staring at Tsunade's shoulder.

"I was questioned, shishou," Sakura replied evenly.

"How?"

Pause.

"I will give the full details in the report."

Silence.

"May I go for healing now, shishou?"

"Sakura—"

"Please, shishou."

There was something in the voice that Tsunade couldn't quite decipher—what was it? Why did it sound so...odd? She wanted to find out—she _was_ worried, however much it didn't show. However much strict she sounded.

But Sakura needed healing. She looked weak and weary, and looked just about ready to sleep and rest. Maybe, just maybe, time to adjust was what Tsunade's young apprentice needed.

With a sigh, Tsunade finally decided to give that.

"Okay, Sakura," she dismissed, with a slight wave of her hand. "You may go. Go to the hospital and get your rest there."

Sakura nodded once, in a polite gesture. Then, slowly, she turned, and limped her way to the office's front door. When she was on the verge of opening it, Tsunade spoke up again.

"Sakura?"

Silence. Sakura stopped, her hand resting on the doorknob.

"Yes, shishou?"

"...you will be alright, won't you?"

Silence, again. She was so still, Tsunade thought the girl didn't hear her. The hand remained on the door, gripping it.

Then Sakura nodded.

"Of course. I'm a ninja."

No tone. No hint. No emotion.

The doorknob turned, and opened, and out she went. The door closed. For a moment, Tsunade wondered if it was just her imagination, or if the person that had just stood in front of her was actually really a stranger.

It wasn't the girl who smiled sincerely, and laughed the sweetest laugh all the time. It wasn't the bubbly girl who shouted loudly, whenever her temper was peaked.

It wasn't the girl who wore her heart in her sleeve.

A stranger.

With a sigh, Tsunade looked down at her table, grimacing at the mess she had made—damn it, looked like she was going to have to buy a new one. Frowning, she took out another bottle of sake—one she had kept hidden in a secret compartment, so Shizune wouldn't see.

She drank. She pondered.

And she worried.

"Sakura...what really happened to you?"

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

He couldn't believe the first thing he noticed about her was her hair. Not the color, though that in itself was already enough to gain both wanted or unwanted attention. It was still vibrant, and it was still naturally one-of-a-kind—seeing it made no mistake who the person standing in front of him was.

But, no—it wasn't the color he first noticed...it was the length.

She had grown her hair, in her absence.

But she had cut it jagged somewhere along the way.

"Sakura-chan!"

Before Sasuke could contemplate why he was even thinking about something as stupid as hair, a blur of orange and black whizzed by his side. On impulse, Sasuke took out his hand from his pocket, and forcefully restrained the loudmouthed blond by the wrist. It was kind of hard, because Naruto was as energetic as ever—bouncy and giddy, with happiness dancing so obviously in his bright blue eyes. He resisted—Sasuke simply gripped harder.

"Teme, let me go!"

"Dobe—look at her. You will crush her injuries, you idiot."

Naruto ranted about being called dead last again, but the Uchiha ignored him. Naruto whined—but after a while, it seemed he understood what his teammate was trying to point out. Sheepishly, the loudmouth turned to Sakura again, grinning and scratching his head at the same time.

"Neh, Sakura-chan," he babbled on apologetically, "I'm sorry if I almost crushed your injuries, as the bastard pointed out...but I'm just so happy to see you! You're alive!" His voice got louder at the last two words, making Sasuke roll his eyes. Naruto grinned more.

Sakura looked at him, and gave out a small smile.

Silence.

Well, silence for Sasuke and Sakura—Naruto kept on talking, about how worried he was, how they were all worried about her, about how they thought she wouldn't come back, and all the other stuff he could cram in his sentences with the least pauses possible (knowing Naruto, those were gonna be long, long sentences). Sasuke ignored him, and Sakura still politely listened, nodding every now and then.

But her eyes were on the ground.

And Sasuke's eyes were on her.

He observed her, wondering why she wasn't looking at any of them. She didn't seem traumatized, or any of the sort—in fact, she looked perfectly fine, minus the bruises and the blood (which probably weren't all hers) and the limping. She didn't look like she needed much help, or like she was going to go into female hysterics any second now.

She didn't look like she'd been missing for more than four months.

"—and we looked for you _everywhere_, because we knew something must have been wrong, and you have been missing for so long—even the bastard here was growing worried, even if he didn't show it! He brooded a lot, and though I did not brood I missed you so much, too, because I didn't know—"

"Sakura."

"Teme, you really shouldn't interrupt—"

"Sakura," Sasuke repeated, still ignoring the blond. It annoyed him that Sakura wasn't even bothering to look up—but she seemed to be listening. He had no idea what to say next, because in truth, they'd never really gotten to know each other again after he had come back—she had always been busy with the hospital, and it wasn't like he really cared what her activities had been. They were only ever together for team trainings, which wasn't even that much (usually twice, thrice a week).

Her disappearance didn't exactly help, too.

Silence.

"What happened?" he finally asked.

"Mission. It got delayed. I had to fix it."

The answer seemed automatic, and Sasuke remained silent. Naruto, however, beamed, oblivious of anything.

"Neh, Sakura-chan...were you captured?" he asked worriedly, while still beaming.

Sakura looked up—into Naruto's sparkling eyes. It surprised Sasuke so much, because when she looked up, he expected those eyes to look afraid or sad or any of the sort. Instead, they looked...normal.

Too normal.

"Yes, Naruto. But I escaped, and I kicked their asses big time."

Naruto laughed in delight, and Sakura smiled a small smile again. Sasuke remained watching her, hands back on his pocket—unsure of what to say.

After a few seconds, the blond loudmouth started jumping up and down, screaming happily that they should go get some ramen for old times' sake—that they needed it for their health. Sasuke merely grunted, refusing to justify such an idiotic statement with an answer. Sakura merely smiled again, and declined, saying she needed to rest, and heal her remaining injuries.

"Aww, that's too bad," Naruto whined, pouting now. "But you will join us for practice tomorrow, right? Kakashi-sensei will be back from his mission tomorrow, and we can all be together again!"

She seemed to hesitate, but Naruto was persistent. She finally nodded.

"Okay. I'll be there."

"Great! You better rest now, Sakura-chan—so you can kick the bastard's ass tomorrow, too! See you tomorrow!"

"Bye, Naruto," Sakura said, still smiling. Her head turned back to the ground, before they finally turned to her other teammate.

Their eyes met. One unreadable, the other...he didn't know. It was unreadable, too.

"See you tomorrow," she said softly, before turning her eyes away again.

"Hn," was his mere reply.

Then they went in opposite directions. The loudmouth continued talking, and dragging Sasuke to the Ichiraku—it seemed that they were going to have ramen again, after all.

"Neh, teme," Naruto intoned, after they had seated themselves and placed their orders (one bowl for Sasuke and five for Naruto—to start, that is), "I'm glad Sakura-chan's back. I missed her so much."

"Hn," Sasuke replied quietly.

"She looks fine after all, doesn't she?" the blond went on.

"Hn," he replied, slower this time. More hesitantly.

"I'm glad. Now we can be team 7 again!"

And with that parting statement, their food came. And both became occupied, one with food, the other with thoughts.

And neither mentioned the event that night again.

She was fine—that was what mattered.

Fine and safe.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

On the outside, Sakura was fine, and normal, and as wonderful as any person who came out of being captured could be. Nothing traumatic, nothing devastating. Nothing bizaare.

On the inside, it was a different story.

Nobody saw Sakura drop her jutsu shield, locking every door and window in her now-dusty apartment—nor did they see her remove her clothes, and stand naked in her room, the gashes and the wounds and the bruises covering every inch of her once-flawless body.

Nobody saw her heal her wounds, hands trembling—nor did they see her go into the shower, and scrub herself long and hard and raw, until her skin turned red, and the healed gashes came back.

Until she bled all over again.

Nobody saw her move her bed near a wall, putting protective chakra all over it—nor did they see her crawling under it, and sealing herself in the shadows of the night. In the darkness.

And nobody saw her curl up in a ball, and whimper quietly—trying hard not to cry, and not to be weak all over again.

Trying hard not to wonder what her once-peaceful life had suddenly become. The nightmares would come.

They always did.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

**a/n: Chapter 4! Whew, sorry it took a long time to update this...i've been busy with schoolwork (yes,i have summer class,it's a must here in my school)and my other fic...**

**Well, anyway, hope you have fun reading...and review if you can, thanks! :)**


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